Shels Vs Lille - pre match build up.

thejollyrodger

Looks like there will be 10,000 to 15,000 supporters at the game tomorrow in landsdowne. It would be great if more could turn up. Anyway, I reckon Shels can get a result tomorrow night even if they have all those injuries.

Lille look like a decent enough outfit. They seem to play quite different to any of the other teams Shels have played so far and I hope it doesnt catch Shels out.

The biggest problem for Irish sides (and UK clubs) have been that they havent prepared tatically for the side they are playing and make some silly mistakes during the game. Hopefully Pat Felon will have his "game plan" well sorted out. A clean sheet is a priority and if they can get a 1-0 win then they would be well on their way to qualifiying.

Im going for a 1-0 win or 0-0 for Shels.

Big Ears

I think it will be a 1-0 win at home and a 2-0 loss away , I don't know why ive just got a bad feeling , although Shelbourne do have a great chance of going through and Lille are no world beaters , I would extremely doubt there will be more than 2 goals between the teams on agregate anyway .

KevIRL

I really really hope Shels can get some results from these 2 games. It would be excellent for Irelands UEFA Co-Effecient ranking. Any games from the first round onwards are worth double points. So a win in a game would be worth 0.666 points and a draw 0.333 points.

Come on Shels!

thejollyrodger

If they can keep a clean sheet they will be well in it over in france and should do better there with all their players back.

I dont think the argentinan player is eligble to play, is that this round only?

StickyMcGinty

the argentina lad is no great shakes. can you just show up and get tickets tomorrow???

thejollyrodger

shame about the argentinian.

yeah you can still get tickets but im not sure about arriving at the gate,

StickyMcGinty

yea went to see the argentinian at shels reserves v bohs reserves (i know, how sad can you get) and he was rubbish, and fenlon who was sittin beside me said the same. but he had his arm in plaster, and his balance was all over the pace, so maybe thats it!!

Töpher

Surprised there hasn't been more interest in this. Should be a good match, and no doubt a great atmosphere.

KdjaCL

Shels fans or players arent interested in this match so i would expect/hope/pray/rain dance etc: a thumping, they must think they CL class or somfin when in reality El team scraping into this league is our best hope of an achievement.

I do admire Shels for their ticket pricing , 15 kids and 3 adults for €120 thats class (although its meant to be Kids free when accompanied by paying adult).

Anyway hopefully they get slaughtered and the players are all tired and exhausted for Monday night.

kdjac

thejollyrodger

Byrne in mood to be hero for Shels
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=94&si=1250891&issue_id=11421

ONE glaring omission from Shelbourne's European odyssey as it has wound its way around the continent has been a goal from their main striker.

Last season, Jason Byrne's 21 goals helped deliver the eircom League title and a Champions League passport for Shelbourne and the 17 he has already scored this term has the Reds on course for a repeat.

However, in six European games this season, the 26-year-old striker has drawn a blank, although it must be pointed out that he has played most of those on the right-hand side of a five-man midfield.

Tonight (7.0), at Lansdowne Road, when Shelbourne face Lille in the first leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie, Byrne will get a chance to grab the European goal he so desperately wants from his normal position.

"I'm in great goalscoring form coming into the game so hopefully that extra bit of confidence will help me in this game," he said. "It would be nice to score another one - I scored last year against Ljubljana."

Byrne played up front against Deportivo La Coruna at The Riazor and had a few chances which he failed to take. On reflection, he reckons he now knows just how sharp strikers have to be at this level.

"You might get eight or nine chances in a League game but you might only get one or two chances in a European game so, when you get one, you have to take it," he said.

While Pat Fenlon confirmed that Byrne will start tonight's game up front, he refused to be drawn on whether it would be as a lone striker.

The Shelbourne manager expressed his satisfaction at the way the former Bray Wanderers player has selflessly put the team first in Europe this season.

"To be fair to Jason, we've asked him to do quite a few different things in Europe and there was probably only one game in which he played as an out and out striker.

"Maybe it will work out for him against Lille because he's scoring goals on a regular basis and coming into it in a fair bit of form. Hopefully he'll get some reward for the hard work he has done."

Fenlon revealed that Cameroon international Joseph Ndo has only a 50-50 chance of playing after failing to take a full part in training yesterday.

If Ndo fails to make the starting line-up, it will be a massive blow to Shelbourne, who are already planning without the suspended Alan Moore and Stuart Byrne.

Fenlon, who will watch from the press box as he commences a two-match touchline ban, is unlikely to change from the 4-5-1 formation he has so successfully employed in Europe this season. On that basis, there could be opportunities for Alan Cawley and Thomas Morgan to line out in midfield alongside Jim Crawford, Ollie Cahill and Wesley Hoolahan.

Lille have already tasted success in Europe this season, having qualified for the UEFA Cup by winning the Inter Toto Cup last month.

Although they lie 13th in the French League, they are only four points behind leaders Toulouse after their 1-0 win over Nice last Saturday.

They come to Dublin without former Tottenham striker Milenko Acimovic, who has a calf injury. However, Fenlon, who watched them beat Nice, knows that they still possess a strong threat.

"They're a good side. They're coming out of a very good league - there's three teams from France in the Champions League so that shows you the quality of the football," he said.

"They have a lot of decent players. Their back four is fairly solid and that gives the other players a licence to roam. Like most European teams, they have good movement and they try to play through you.

"They're probably a little bit different to other European teams in that they press a little higher. They work hard in that middle area, they have fellas who interchange."

Lille coach Claude Puel has been busy during the summer and among the players he has brought in are Senegal's World Cup goalkeeper Tony Sylva, who was signed from Champions League finalists Monaco, and Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie, who was one of the stars of the 2004 African Nations Cup.

Puel took his squad for a training session at Lansdowne Road last night and afterwards said that, while he respected Shels, he didn't fear them.

"I watched videos of the La Coruna game. They played very well to a system and will be hard to break down. They have a strong defence and a good midfield.

"I think Moore is a big loss to them, though they have other good players. Wes Hoolahan is a little big player for them and the number 7 (Ollie Cahill) is very direct and can hurt teams."

The prize for getting through this tie is a place in the group stages of the UEFA Cup, from which the top three in each of the eight five-team groups will advance to the knockout stages.

According to Jason Byrne, the mood in the Shelbourne dressing-room is one of optimism. "We're pretty confident - we are a confident team," he said. "We don't really know what they're like yet but I think we have a chance."

Tickets for the game, which have been selling briskly, will will be on sale outside Lansdowne Road tonight.

Shelbourne are hoping that a bumper crowd will help them write another exciting chapter in their tales of European exploits.

SHELBOURNE (probable): Williams; Heary, Harris, Rogers, Crawley; Ndo/Cawley, Hoolahan, Crawford, Morgan, Cahill; J Byrne.

LILLE (probable 4-2-3-1): Sylva, Chalme, Tavlaridis, Vitakic, Tafforeau; Bodmer, Makoun; Dumont, Landrin, Brunel; Moussilou.

Gerry McDermott
and David Kelly

.

StickyMcGinty

KdjaC wrote:

(although its meant to be Kids free when accompanied by paying adult).

meant to be kids free?? for a european game??? not on your life!! tell me ONE other club that has EVER done this for a european game.

thejollyrodger

well lets hope the kids cheer shels on more than the usual landsdowne road.

Lille are missing their 27 year old who is an international and they have sold most of their good players from last year , including thier highest goal scorer ever Shels hopefully can get a 1-0 win.

_blank_

Ok Folks, I'll be leaving for the match in a few minutes. Will be in Section G of the West Lower, nominally the Briogaid Dearg On Tour stand, the singing section.

Looks like the rain is going to keep the crowd away, two people I thought might make the trip have cried off because of it already, also the fact that it's on the T.V will have a detrimental affect.

Now to the game itself.

Stuey Byrne is going to be a big loss for Shels tonight. He has been one of the most consistent performers on the European stage for Shels to date. Good holding role, getting in very good tackles, breaking up the oppositions play and setting up attacks for Shels throughout.

Alan Moore will also be sorely missed. He has scored 3 goals in the European run so far, and with his international experience his class has shone through.

Joey Ndo will also not be playing, and will too be missed big time in the midfield. He brings another dimension to Shels' play, setting up good attacking play with his skillfull displays.

Hopefully Jayo Byrne can get a goal, having scored not once in the European run, but he seems to be back in form in the domestic side of things.

BELIEVE! FORZA SHELS! COME ON THE REAL REDS!

Big Ears

I will miss the game because I have , hurling training :mad: , anyone know when the next leg is on ? im probably gonna miss that too .

_blank_

Big Ears wrote:

I will miss the game because I have , hurling training :mad: , anyone know when the next leg is on ? im probably gonna miss that too .

Away leg is Thursday 30th September. So yeah, if you train every thursday, yuo'll miss that too.

thejollyrodger

Shelbourne defender Dave Rogers admits he is still pinching himself to make sure this season's European adventure has not been just a dream.

The 29-year-old has been a journeyman at various small-time clubs from Carlisle to to Ayr United before he moved to the Dublin side last year thinking he would be simply winding his career down.

But the big Scouser was instrumental in Shels' remarkable Champions League campaign this season, helping the Irish side beat KR Reykjavik and Hajduk Split, where he scored a storming goal in their 2-0 win at Tolka Park.

The Dubliners eventually lost out to Deportivo La Coruna and now take on French side Lille in the first leg of their UEFA Cup first-round tie at Lansdowne Road - and Rogers is savouring every moment of it.

He said: "I thought I would go through my career and not get to play against the best players and the best teams. I thought that had all passed me by.

"If you had said I would be playing in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup 18 months ago I would have laughed.

"But people are taking notice now and it gives me great pride to have played a part in the feel-good factor in Dublin at the moment.

"When I scored the goal against Hajduk it was unbelievable, there were people crying.

"Even now when I'm walking down the street people stop me and talk about it and one even said that if he never sees another Shelbourne game again at least he'll have that memory.

"And when we played against Deportivo at a packed Lansdowne Road, I was on the park thinking, 'This is what it's all about'.

"I'm confident we can turn in a similar performance in the UEFA Cup against Lille."

Lille's talented Slovenian midfielder Milenko Acimovic, who scored a hat-trick in his country's recent 3-0 World Cup win against Moldova, admitted the Irish side are something of an unknown quantity.

He said: "I don't know anything about them apart from they play good football.

"I know they drew 0-0 against Deportivo at home and so they will make it very hard for us.

"But Lille is also a small team and it's good for us that we came through the Intertoto Cup and now we've got a big chance in the UEFA Cup.

"We will be trying to get a result that will help take us into the next round and it will be very good for our supporters if we can achieve that."

Shels manager Pat Fenlon, however, watched Lille play against Nice at the weekend and he insisted the French side are not just a one-man team.

He said: "It's not just Acimovic we have to watch, they have a few decent players.

"Their back four in particular is very strong and they have good height throughout the team which we will have to watch out for, but I think there are a few areas we can exploit."

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cups/uefacup/news/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=soccer/04/09/16/SOCCER_Shelbourne_Rogers.html

Bateman

>tell me ONE other club that has EVER done this for a european game.
Bohs did it this summer.


I can see tonight being another draw. Shels will fancy their chances of keeping it tight at the back, and hope that Byrne can nick one for them. That has been their plan so far, no reason to change it now.

thejollyrodger

1-0 down. Its not looking good at all. Shels are very bad at keeping the ball and keep giving it away. There is obvious problems with the formation no one is up front. I can see it being 2 or 3 to Lille

bizmark

Ultra get out of jail card played there :eek:

eirebhoy

Lucky, Lucky Shels. I just want to say, how the hell didn't William's save the first goal? There was no way that wa the furthest he could have "dived".

Ireland have gone from 40th to 38th in the country rankings with that draw and can't be overtaken.

thejollyrodger

what a come back by Shels !! Great to see. I didnt think Shels had that in them after watching the first half. I think the formation change helped a bit, and when Shels brought the game to them.

Shels had a few chances in the game and at this level they really have to take them. Also they need to work on keeping the ball, closing players down, getting the ball and stuff like that for the next leg.

Good to see we have jumped to 38th !

Töpher

Was in the Lower West G for the game, appauling first half, absolutely appauling. Start of the second half was no better tbh. Fitzpatricks appearance seemed to have a huge effect on the rest of the players approach, they actually pushed forward and passed the ball better, still too many gaps in the back for my liking, but an all round better display. Still gonna be tough to get through. Byrne was abysmal. Dire. On the few breaks Shels had down the wings, Byrne was still jogging around between the centre circle and the Lille box, that said he did produce one fine header towards goal in the first half.

_blank_

Was down in West Lower G meself. Well done to everyone for keeping up the singing even at 2-0 down, proud of you all.

First half Shels were very poor, lacked ideas and gave away two very soft goals. But they deserved to go in 2-0 down, there is no doubt about it. I have to say, I could see no way back.

Steve Williams. Probably could have done better for the first goal, but overall made a couple of crucial interceptions at the forwards' feet.

Owen Heary. Solid at the back as ever, but some of his distribution was poor. I thought he linked up well with Cawley in the second half, and caused a few problems.

Dave Crawley. I don't think Ollie Cahill trusts him, and I dont really blame him. Dave has been solid recently, but could have done better tonight. He seemed to go missing for the first goal.

Dave Rogers. Good game at centre half, I thought he commanded in the air, and brought a few good balls out of defence.

Jamie Harris. A quiet game by his standards, but played well enough.

All in all, the defence did well in the second half, but gave away two easy goals in the first.

Tommy Morgan. I actually passed a comment early on that I thought he was having a good game. :eek: How wrong was I? I don't think he made one completed pass all night.

Jim Crawford, again a very poor game, but it has to be said, he has been out injured for a while.

Joey Ndo. He shouldn't have started the game at all, and I was glad he went off at half time. His replacement Alan Cawley did well, gave some impetus to the side, wanted to get on the ball, and get forward.

Ollie Cahill. He frustrates me sometimes. At times in games he seems very reluctant to get down the wing and try to beat his full back. Tonight, the few times he did get balls into the box, there was just no-one there on the end of them.

Wes Hoolahan. Didn't seem like he was up for it, certainly was not at his best. Was running in circles most of the time, and his passing was below par too. All in all, he can't complain at being subbed off.

Jason Byrne. Still no goal in Europe for Jayo. He should have scored when he was through in the first half, but then brought a good save out of the 'keeper late on in the first with the header. Poor game by his usual standards.

Alan Cawley. As I've said already, his introduction changed the way the game was running for Shels.

Ger McCarthy. Also, was probably better than the player he replaced, but still, very quiet.

Glen Fitzpatrick. You little dixie. I have to say, I have been defending Glen all season, I thought he had a very good beginning to the season, then got injured and took some time to get back in to the swing of things, and people crticised him. I feel totally vindicated tonight. I'd nearly play him from the start in the second leg.

Thes econd leg will be a different affair. Stuey Byrne will be back, as will Alan Moore and a fully fit Joey Ndo. If Glen gets a game and plays well against SPA on Monday, then I'd give him a start in Lille.

FORZA SHELS!!

therecklessone

Shels were muck tonight, totally off the pace.

But we'll take that result...

I'm completely hoarse after goal number 2.

gimmick

7400? Where were the other 16000+ glory hunters? What was the point in even moving the game to Lansdowne?

Pathetic. One of the biggest games in their history, and they can just about manage to get above Cork Citys average attendance for a league game.

When City played Malmo in the 1st round of the inter 2 bob, there were 6500. Some champions Shels are, great advertisement for the league.

therecklessone

gimmick wrote:

Some champions Shels are, great advertisement for the league.

I love this attitude, blame Shels because people won't go to their matches...

gimmick

I will blame Shels. They make no effort to get people through the gates. Once they get their ManUre money and their sponsors, they couldnt give a toss about their fans.

Had they even tried to play tonights game in Tolka, there was a good chance that they would have got an even better result, but no, they pandered to the almighty dollar.

Its a bad state of affairs when irelands most professional club on and off the pitch can barely get a few more fans that Continuity Home farm

therecklessone

T'would seem the Pat Dolan own-brand chip on the shoulder is spreading in the rebel county...

LizardKing

I think there were a lot of reasons for the low attendance , the messing around with the early kick-off and then changing it back, the night itself was a complete wash out plus the fact the novelty and hype had died down after being beaten by deportivo.

I wish them well in lille though , hopefully they can get a surprise goal or two , they defo. need to play with 2 up front though ....

thejollyrodger

I agree with what LizardKing said. Shels were on a roll and things kind of came to a end after the riazor in Galicia. Even the way Shels were playing in the first half was dreadful and they didnt look as though they were intrested in getting to the group stages of the UEFA Cup. It was a dreadful night weather wise and very small crowd:(

Well I would rather see Shels rallying towards the end than giving away a 2 goal lead. They will have hopefullly a full squad for 2 weeks time and hopefully can make it a win in France.

I think Shels can do the business over there and get to the group stages, just one question though. When does the E.L end, Shels will be screwed if they get to the group stages and there is no E.L matches !!

_blank_

thejollyrodger wrote:

just one question though. When does the E.L end

The League is due to end on November 19th.

eirebhoy

Nobody mentioned the fact the Shels are unbeaten at home in 4 European matches this season against Rejkavic, Hajduk, Deportivo and Lille. :eek: Superb.

There are so many factors that could have cause the low attendance. Lille finished 9th in the French league while Depor finished 3rd in the Spanish league. Depor are full of top class players while it would be hard to name more than 1 or 2 from Lille. This is the UEFA cup, not the champions league. Its was played at 7.00. It was a terrible night on the weather front. Etc, etc.

Still though, the 7,000 Shels fans made a lot more noise than the 36,000 fans at the Cyprus match.

In hindsight, considering Shels were without 2 first choice midfielders and another wasn't fully fit, mayble Fenlon would have been better playing a 4-4-2 last night.

BTW, how can anyone defend the Shels board? I have no doubt that they would prefer money over success as the team would have a much better chance in Tolka. They don't understand that success brings money in the long term through seedings etc.

thejollyrodger

Nice to keep the unbeaten run at home going. There defintely seemed like lots of factors against Shels last night they came right in the end.

Fenlon should go with 4-4-2 next time, 4-5-1 is ok if you want to crowd out midfield and keep things tight but I think it played into the hands of Lille.

Shels can beat this team in two weeks and get to the group stages. There is 5 teams in a group and only the bottom 2 dont go through. The group stages of the UEFA Cup go on to December and the following stage goes on to Feburary. I think the FAI should look about changing the start date for the league.

eirebhoy

thejollyrodger wrote:

Fenlon should go with 4-4-2 next time, 4-5-1 is ok if you want to crowd out midfield and keep things tight but I think it played into the hands of Lille.

But with all players available, if he goes with a 4-4-2 with Byrne and Fitz up front it means dropping Ndo. I'd stick with the 4-5-1 with everyone available but he should have went with the 4-4-2 yesterday.

I think the FAI should look about changing the start date for the league.

This is the first season of summer soccer and it has paid dividends, there's no way the league is going to go back to the way it was.

LizardKing

I think stuey byrne and alan moore were missed yesterday , fenlon will bring them back in and probably drop crawford ndo/cawley to the bench. He may go for the 4-5-1 again and leave fitz on bench too.

Are RTé are showing the away leg ??

StickyMcGinty

Still though, the 7,000 Shels fans made a lot more noise than the 36,000 fans at the Cyprus match.

what a load a crap, i was at both, and the cyprus game had a better atmosphere. i do believe though, that a landsdown road full of shels fans versus a landsdown full of ireland fans, the shels fans would be much better!!

its a shame that finbar had to pick landsdown, this really was a money over fans decision, which has been rare so far!

thought the first half was very poor, we were a real embaressment to the league in terms of movement and passing in the top 2 thirds!

shels best asset is their back 4. superb. envy of the league.

that was cahills worst performance in a shels jersey, he hasnt looked the same since he left cork at all at all. BYRNE WAS TERRIBLE....YET AGAIN!! when will he get his arse in gear, we cant cope with him missing sitters the whole time. and i saw the family resemblence between him and his cousin last night... did you see when he fell over the man LYING on the ground? or when he just stopped running, throwing his arms up in the air, ala robbie keane??? he drives me nuts sometimes!

ndo didnt look fit at all, mainly because he had and injection before the game, but he was missing all night. wes was poor defensivly, wrong side of his man all night. movement was poor up frount, the changes at the half did a little for 5 minutes but then it got bad again.

Glen fitzy though.... what a substitution!! legend! took his two goals well, and after a dissappointing depor game, he more than made up for it!

and well done RTE, for not switching over to fair city at 8!!! even though we were 2 goals down!

all in all, not a good result, but not a bad result, got out of jail, but we have to make the most of the next leg!!

eirebhoy

VinnyL wrote:

what a load a crap, i was at both, and the cyprus game had a better atmosphere.

There was no need for saying "what a load of crap". If I was blatantly lying or biased towards Shels fans maybe there would. I was at neither match because 1. I'm not a Shels fan and 2. I'm still on the waiting list for the block booking for internationals. One thing I can say is from watching it on RTE the Shels match sounded a lot more lively at 0-0 at 2-1 than the Ireland match did at any time.

Big Ears

seansouth wrote:

The League is due to end on November 19th.

If I were Shels I would book some friendlies with Swedish teams (they have the same timestructure in they're league) , if they make it through .

Is there any Swedish teams still left in the competition as they would make a perfect oppenont for a friendly .

KdjaCL

7000 people wow thats amazing , the whole kids free with paying adult would have been a good idea eh ?

Anyway didnt see the match heard they were **** and got 2 lucky goals near the end.
Coefficency went up to where it was beofre Shels lost to Hibs , your nearly forgiven.
Roll on monday and a Run of the Mill league game.

kdjac

thejollyrodger

This is the first season of summer soccer and it has paid dividends, there's no way the league is going to go back to the way it was.

I didnt say bring it back to the way it was, I mean change the start date so that if any club does manage to qualify for the group stages of the Champions league or realistically the UEFA Cup then there will still be E.L football on !

KdjaCL

there's no way the league is going to go back to the way it was.

Ah noobie in ways of EL , just cos its a good thing doesnt mean our beloved masters the FAI wouldnt change it in a heartbeat if offered few packets of crips of Sky. over the 3 years pats have averaged same crowd so been a success off the ptich for us.

kdjac

Big Ears

You can't exactly blame Shelbourne that they don't have 5,000 plus real fans , its not like they can force people to become die-hard supporters .

gimmick

VinnyL wrote:

i do believe though, that a landsdown road full of shels fans

Lol, a grouind full of Shels fans. Even if u put every shels fan that ever there was, living or dead, you wouldnt fill Lansdowne.

KdjaCL

gimmick wrote:

Lol, a grouind full of Shels fans. Even if u put every shels fan that ever there was, living or dead, you wouldnt fill Lansdowne.

Now a single decker bus thats a possibility.

kdjac

KdjaCL

Big Ears wrote:

You can't exactly blame Shelbourne that they don't have 5,000 plus real fans , its not like they can force people to become die-hard supporters .

Would that be because they a new team to EL ? Or is there another reason?
Tis all about location location location, i been going to richmond ever since me da dragged me down there in the 80s now i drag my own kids down. And everyone i know under 35 was dragged down at some stage and now do the same with their own kids.

kdjac

Bateman

>landsdown road full of shels fans

I think that is missing the point. The point is, that Shels (no more than any other eL team) don't have enough fans to "fill Landsdowne". But don't blame Shels; blame the infamous Irish/Dublin soccer public. :rolleyes: